Apple Demos Mac OS on PPCP

Apple Demos Mac OS on PPCP -- At Demo 96 last week, Apple demonstrated a development version of the Mac OS running on a prototype computer built to PowerPC Platform (PPCP) specifications. (See TidBITS-304.) Machines built to the PowerPC Platform spec can theoretically run any operating system designed for the platform, and Apple, Sun, IBM, Microsoft, and others have announced plans to support it. The prototype, built by IBM, ran mainstream Power Macintosh applications and used third-party peripherals. Apple said a final release of the Mac OS for the PowerPC Platform should be available in the second half of 1996, with the first Macs based on the spec appearing in 1997. Potential Mac OS licensees see support for the PowerPC Platform as an important part of Apple's licensing strategy. [GD]